Page 71 of The Devil's Trials

Terror steals the air from my lungs as Brynne steps closer, her shoulder bumping against mine. We’re both breathing hard and fast but neither of us are running away. I think we both know the moment we turn our backs on this monster, we’re dead. My hands shake at my sides, and I ball them into fists. If this is it, I refuse to go down without a fight. And despite the fear clinging to my skin like a film, one fleeting thought brings me a semblance of comfort in the midst of it all.

I’m going to see my sister again.

A sharp whistle to the side captures the demon’s attention as well as the rest of ours. Wyatt mutters a breathy, “Thank fuck,” as relief floodsthrough me at the sight of Noah crossing the lot toward us, wielding a dagger and a downright wicked grin.

Okay, I can kind of see the ‘hunter god’ thing as he gets closer, and now isnotthe time to be staring at him. Though, evidently, he’s not as concerned with this demon as the rest of us are. And considering he has a weapon that can destroy the monster, I suppose that’s fair.

The demon turns his back on us, cackling as he saunters toward Noah. I start moving without fully realizing what I’m doing. I throw my arm around the demon’s neck from behind, hauling him backward, then jump on him, using my full body weight to take him to the pavement, where I smack his head against it. A low growl rumbles through him as Noah closes the rest of the distance between us.

“A little help here?” I nearly snarl at him, struggling to keep the demon beneath me. I squeeze my thighs, using every ounce of strength I have to hold him down.

Noah’s voice is far too easygoing when he says, “I’m kind of curious to see where this goes.”

“Donotfuck with me right now, Daniels.”

“You seem to be doing just fine.”

“I swear to—”

The demon bucks me off, and I fall to the side, wincing as the pavement bites into my skin through my sweater. Noah sighs, and I scowl at him.

Within seconds, the demon is in my face, wrapping his fingers around my throat and squeezing until I gasp.

Everything happens so fast.

Noah yanks the demon off me, then steps closer, offering me the dagger. “Earn it, and you can keep it,” he says as he pulls another out of the inside pocket of his jacket. Wyatt and Brynne hang back, I guess figuring they’re not going to be much help without weapons.

I take the dagger as Noah moves with a lethal grace to swipe his outward, slashing the demon across the cheek. It hisses in pain, baring its mouthful of fangs, and charges at Noah, who dances out of the way. The two of them go head-to-head, both getting in some nasty blows. When Noah skids across the pavement and loses his bearings, the demon flashes in front of him, catching him by the throat and knocking the dagger out of his grip.

I’m moving forward before I can think about it, my grip sure and my target locked in. There isn’t a moment of hesitation in my muscles as I slam the dagger into the demon from behind. The obsidian blade slices too easily through skin and muscle as I hold my breath and grip the hilt so tightly my knuckles turn white.

A sickeningly guttural sound fills the air as he whirls around, and I yank the dagger out of his back only to slam it as hard as I can where I hope his heart is as nausea ripples through me. The demon’s all-black eyes go wide, nearly bugging out of his face, and then it turns to ash at my feet, the dagger clattering to the pavement as I stand there gasping for breath.

Wyatt and Brynne holler their praise from behind me, but I barely hear them over the rushing of blood in my ears. The pressure in my chest tightens to a near unbearable amount, and I shake my head as my sight starts to get fuzzy. Nausea floods in now and I hurry across the lot, slipping between two buildings to keep myself out of view just before I empty the contents of my stomach onto the ground.

My throat burns when I swallow, and I suck in a sharp breath as someone gathers the hair from around my face, holding it back. I relax slightly the moment Noah’s scent reaches me but I still shove him away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“I’m fine,” I grit out.

He lets out a harsh laugh. “Right. Forgive the fuck out of me for trying to make sure you’re okay. What an ass I am.”

My stomach drops, and I stand there staring at his chest as my heart pounds in mine. I exhale a shaky breath. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m not used to you taking care of me.” The absolute last thing I want is to look weak in front of Noah. I don’t even want to think about what’s going through his head at me getting sick after killing a demon.

He steps in closer, dipping his chin and lowering his voice. “There is no shame in this. The moment taking a life becomes easy is when I’m going to start worrying about you.”

I lean against the cool brick exterior, tipping my head back to look at him. “I get to keep the dagger though, right?”

The corner of his mouth kicks up, and he reaches into his back pocket, retrieving it. “I should tell you no, considering you ran off without it, but here.” He hands it to me, and I slide it into my sweater pocket.

“Come on. Let’s go home.”

Let’s go home.

The words land oddly in my chest, trapping the air in my lungs for too long before I can force out, “Where’s your car?”

“Just a few blocks over.”

I nod slowly. “Why? I mean, what were you doing out here?”

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